Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Page 247

Jurassic park III
Movie
Jurassic park III
Director
Joe Johnston
Producer
Kathleen Kennedy
Cast
Sam Neill, William H. Macy, Tea Leoni



By Ad-Lib

Sometimes you wonder how the American Airlines flights weren`t run into Hollywood studios? First question is who is to blame? Spielberg? The American Public? Who?? Well, these questions all draw blank answers because Jurassic Park III is a movie that no one really wanted to be a part of. A third round of dinosaurs was just too much to stomach.

The film opens with two overeager adventurers, 14-year-old Eric Kirby (Trevor Morgan) and his mother`s reckless boyfriend. They have hired a boat to pull them parasailing alongside Isla Sorna. Things go horribly wrong, and they disappear into the island`s interior. Meanwhile, Dr. Grant (Sam Neill) has retreated to his research, safely studying dinosaur bones millions of years old, and determined to put his disastrous experience with the real things behind him forever. However, as in the original, Grant is desperate for research money. When wealthy adventurer Paul Kirby (William H. Macy) and his ex-wife Amanda (Tea Leoni) offer him a blank check just to accompany them on an aerial tour of Isla Sorna, he caves into his need for cash. Unknown to Grant and his protege Billy Brennan (Alessandro Nivola), the Kirbys are actually just a middle-class divorced couple with a secret plan. They`re Eric`s parents, and the excursion was never intended to be a simple aerial tour, but a search-and-rescue mission. Much to Grant`s horror, they land the plane on the island. Within moments, they`re attacked by an enormous creature, causing the aircraft to crash into the jungle. It`s deja vu all over again. But instead of a jeep (as in the original), our reluctant heroes` first encounter with the monsters occurs while trapped in a plane`s fuselage, as they`re batted around in what has now become a tin can death trap. Miraculously, and conveniently, they escape -- otherwise this would be a very short movie. The race is now on to find the missing boy.

Unlike the first two films, Jurassic Park III is not based on a book by Michael Crichton. Instead, the sciptwriters have used Crichton`s basic concept and characters to create an original story. Also unlike the other two films, No. 3 was not directed by Steven Spielberg, who chose to just executive produce this time around.

JP3 is an awful movie just like its pedecessors. Personally I feel that there is no chance of dinosaurs coming back to life, so it is pointless making a movie that insults viewer intelligence. So if the plot is bad, what about the characters? The part of Dr. Grant fits him comfortably. . Leoni holds her own, never letting her character become a stereotypical helpless chick caught in an action flick. Spielberg once again has the perfect eye when it comes to casting child actors: Morgan (one of Mel Gibson`s sons in "The Patriot" 2000) has the wonderful combination of innocence and bravado needed for the important role of Eric, who is the catalyst for the entire story. But good performances itself cannot redeem the movie. I give Jurassic Park III a 3 out of 10. So please don`t go see it!!

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